Crash: How long can uneasy truce between Australia and India last as Border-Gavaskar battle heats up

Travis Head and Mohammed Siraj have hugged and made up... for now. Robert Craddock wonders if the uneasy peace between Australia and India can last the summer.

An uneasy truce has fallen over the showdown for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but this little baby could blow at any time.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma, as all captains have to, told us that it was his job to ensure hot-blooded players like Mohammed Siraj stay on the right side of the line and the law.

But his key message was that he wanted Siraj to be Siraj. The man with the crazy eyes won’t be changing. Or losing sleep.

Some players loathe being the centre in dust-ups but the word from the Indian room is that Siraj is quietly enjoying the notoriety.

If he is tightly wound by the second Test you can only imagine how much the lid will be bubbling on his saucepan by the fifth Test in Sydney.

Mohammed Siraj is reportedly enjoying the notoriety coming from his appeals and run-ins with Australian players. Picture: Michael Errey/AFP.

This could be one of the great Test series. The first two matches were not classics. They were one-sided thrashings but you just sense the best games of this series are to come.

At some point they will have a decent arm wrestle and both nations will be captivated.

Each teams has their issues and bright spots.

Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Marsh need runs for Australia and Sharma himself is a major worry, averaging 27 from 12 Tests this year.

India have lost the past four Tests he has captained.

When a captain wobbles in a touring team in Australia, the side invariably wobbles beneath him.

Sharma explained after the loss that India prepare wickets at home to suit their slow bowlers and it makes it heavy weather for their batsmen. He has no problems with that. It’s actually what he wants.

But it means that when they come on a tour like Australia they are not naturally conditioned to playing long Test innings.

Australia’s bowlers are starting to look menacing. After a slow start in Perth Cummins bowled faster and more aggressively here. His pace had been slipping but suddenly he has found an extra gear.

He was also more animated, celebrating wickets with uncharacteristic gusto.

As Australia took their Adelaide Oval pink ball record to eight from eight Mitchell Starc again emerged the pink ball prince.

Josh Hazlewood may well return in Brisbane and it may be a blessing he had a match off because it could keep him fresh for a brutal month of heavy duty Tests.

India's captain Rohit Sharma will have to walk a fine line with Mohammed Siraj. Picture: William West/AFP.

If he doesn’t play Scott Boland will continue to slip seamlessly into the fray.

It is believed he was pencilled in a few weeks ago to play Brisbane anyway in the anticipation that one of the front-liners would need a rest.

The intrigue around the Indian team intensified when Sharma confirmed they would have more open sessions, partly because they didn’t want people listening to their net chatter.

India will make an emotional return to Brisbane on Wednesday with strong memories of the day on their last tour when they became the first visiting team to win there in more than three decades, galloping off into the night like raiders who had just taken the crown jewels.